Features

Has the sun set on solar power?

Savings have not materialised and complaints about schemes are rising

Solar panels have made it harder for Pippa Allen to secure a new mortgage (Paul Greenwood)

Correction: In the original version of this article, we incorrectly
stated that a 2.7 kilowatts peak solar panel system would cost £7,000 to
install and that customers would therefore have to wait 16-and-a-half years
to break even on the original investment, based on a total income and energy
bill savings of £550 a year minus maintenance costs of £1,000 every eight
years. In fact, a system of this size would cost about £5,400 to install and
therefore customers would have to wait 12-and-a-half years to break even on
the original investment.

HOUSEHOLDS have been left frustrated after paying thousands of pounds for
solar panels on the promise of huge savings that have failed to materialise.

Complaints about solar panels have soared from fewer than 30 three years ago,
to nearly 1,130 in 2012, according to the latest figures from the Renewable
Energy Consumer Code, set up to protect customers from